The band name is Portuguese for “Tired of Being Sexy” (taken from something Beyoncé once commented to the press: “I am tired of being sexy”).
The members are: Lovefoxxx (vocals), Luiza Sá (guitar, drums and keys), Ana Rezende (guitar and harmonica) and Carolina Parra (guitar and drums). Former members are Iracema Trevisan (bass) and Adriano Cintra (drums, guitar, vocals and production).
In an interview, guitarist/harmonica player Ana Rezende explains the band's name: "[...] we heard that Beyoncé had said that she was really tired of being sexy, which is a really retarded thing to say. It's like saying, "Oh, I'm tired of being rich." So "tired of being sexy" in Portuguese is cansei de ser sexy, so we put it on the flyer to promote the show that we were playing and we kind of got stuck with that name. It was just the stupidest name that we could have ever come up with, but it's funny and I love it. But sometimes people think that we're serious and we're tired of being recognized for our bodies or something like that, and it's nothing like that at all.."
CSS owes a lot of its success to word-of-mouth promotion on the internet, starting with the Trama Virtual website, a kind of Brazilian MySpace. A live performance in 2004 at Tim Festival on the same stage as 2 Many DJs and Kraftwerk increased their fanbase.
In 2005, they signed with Trama Virtual and in October of the same year their first album was released in Brazil.
At the beginning of 2006, CSS signed with Sub Pop to release their first international album and in July they made a thirty-gig tour through USA and Canada along with DJ Diplo and Bonde do Rolê.
The live performance CSS offers is uniquely energetic and entertaining. Lovefoxxx dodges among her bandmates and involves the audience in virtually every song. Sá, Cintra, and Parra switch instruments so often it's easy to forget where they started.
Tours of the US and Europe with Ladytron and Basement Jaxx in 2006 were followed by gigs in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In 2007 18 year old student and Apple fan Nick Haley created a home made iPod Touch commercial by piecing together various clips found at apple.com and adding the fast paced and catchy CSS song "Music Is My Hot Hot Sex" as the soundtrack.
After uploading the home made commercial to YouTube Haley was contacted by Apple agency TBWA/Chiat/Day who was allowed to create a TV commercial based on his original spot, claiming instant fame for the CSS tune as well as for the user generated commercial.
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Hollywood
Cansei de Ser Sexy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody comes to Hollywood
They
wanna make it in the neighbourhood
They like the smell of
it in Hollywood
How could it hurt you when it looks so
Shine your light now
This time it's got to
be good
You get it right now
Cause you're in
Hollywood
There's something in the air in
Hollywood
The sun is shining like you knew it would
You're riding in your car in Hollywood
You got the
top down and it feels so good
Shine your light now
This time it's got to be good
You get it right now
yeah
Cause you're in Hollywood
Hollywooooood !
Cansei de Ser Sexy's song Hollywood is a satirical take on the American Dream, as experienced by people who flock to Hollywood with the hopes of making it big. The lyrics point out the allure of the entertainment industry, with its glitz and glamour, and also its superficiality. The repeated use of the word "Hollywood" emphasizes the focus on the location and the distorted perceptions of success that are associated with it. The opening lines, "Everybody comes to Hollywood, they wanna make it in the neighborhood" set the tone for the rest of the song, as the lyrics go on to describe the desperation of those who come to Hollywood to achieve fame and fortune.
The lines "They like the smell of it in Hollywood, how could it hurt you when it looks so good?" indicates that people are drawn to Hollywood because of the image that it portrays. The euphoric feeling of being in Hollywood is expressed in the lines "The sun is shining like you knew it would, you're riding in your car in Hollywood, you got the top down and it feels so good". The song mocks the 'chasing the dream' mentality that Hollywood may be selling to many aspiring actors, filmmakers, musicians, and creators. The lyrics of the song suggest that the success stories of Hollywood are not always guaranteed and the struggle to reach the top can outweigh the rewards of chasing fame and fortune.
Overall, the song frames Hollywood as a mythic location, where people come to achieve the unattainable - it's a cautionary tale about the dangers of buying into the Hollywood dream.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody comes to Hollywood
People from all over come to Hollywood in pursuit of fame and success.
They wanna make it in the neighbourhood
They want to make a name for themselves in Hollywood's entertainment industry.
They like the smell of it in Hollywood
The allure and excitement of Hollywood draws people in.
How could it hurt you when it looks so good?
The glamour and glitz of Hollywood can be deceiving and dangerous.
Shine your light now
You need to show what you've got and impress everyone around you.
This time it's got to be good
This is your chance to succeed, so make sure you give it your best shot.
You get it right now
Believe in yourself and your abilities, and you can achieve greatness.
Cause you're in Hollywood
You're in the heart of the entertainment world, where dreams are made.
There's something in the air in Hollywood
There's an excitement and energy in the atmosphere of Hollywood.
The sun is shining like you knew it would
Hollywood is known for its sunny weather.
You're riding in your car in Hollywood
Cruising around in a car in Hollywood is a symbol of success and status.
You got the top down and it feels so good
The freedom and open air make you feel alive and thriving.
Contributed by Kaelyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.